''The Kin-der-Kids'' and ''Wee Willie Winkie's World'' were early newspaper
comics
a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...
by painter
Lyonel Feininger
Lyonel Charles Feininger (July 17, 1871January 13, 1956) was a German-American painter, and a leading exponent of Expressionism. He also worked as a caricaturist and comic strip artist. He was born and grew up in New York City, traveling to Germa ...
and published by the ''
Chicago Sunday Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television are ...
'' during 1906–07.
Similar in form to ''
Little Nemo
Little Nemo is a fictional character created by American cartoonist Winsor McCay. He originated in an early comic strip by McCay, ''Dream of the Rarebit Fiend'', before receiving his own spin-off series, ''Little Nemo in Slumberland''. The f ...
'' and the later Sunday editions of ''
Krazy Kat
''Krazy Kat'' (also known as ''Krazy & Ignatz'' in some reprints and compilations) is an US, American newspaper comic strip, by cartoonist George Herriman, which ran from 1913 to 1944. It first appeared in the ''New York Journal-American, New Yor ...
'', most of Feininger's comics occupied a full-page and were rendered in color. ''The Kin-der-Kids'' were published in ''Tribune'' papers beginning April 29, 1906. Feininger's second feature, ''Wee Willie Winkie's World'', was published concurrently with ''The Kin-der-Kids'' from August 19, 1906, until ''The Kin-der-Kidss cancellation on November 18, 1906. ''Wee Willie Winkie's World'' ended three months later, on February 17, 1907. The series' short existences have been attributed to several causes, including Feininger being unable to produce two strips of finely detailed artwork on a weekly schedule, and personal conflict between Feininger and his publishers.
Much like ''The
New York Herald
The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''.
His ...
's'' ''Little Nemo'', ''Tribune'' publishers envisioned ''The Kin-der-kids'' as a relatively sophisticated alternative to the comical, and at times violent, antics of ''
Happy Hooligan
''Happy Hooligan'' is an American comic strip, the first major strip by the already celebrated cartoonist Frederick Burr Opper. It debuted with a Sunday strip on March 11, 1900 in the William Randolph Hearst newspapers, and was one of the first ...
'' and ''
The Katzenjammer Kids
''The Katzenjammer Kids'' is an American comic strip created by Rudolph Dirks in 1897 and later drawn by Harold Knerr for 35 years (1914 to 1949).Hearst and
Pulitzer Pulitzer may refer to:
*Joseph Pulitzer, a 20th century media magnate
*Pulitzer Prize, an annual U.S. journalism, literary, and music award
*Pulitzer (surname)
* Pulitzer, Inc., a U.S. newspaper chain
*Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-pro ...
.
Characters and story
''The Kin-der-Kids'' featured an ongoing story about the three Kin-der brothers who, along with their dog and a mechanical boy, sailed in the family's antique bathtub to explore the world. The story implies that the Kin-ders sailed for a specific reason: early on they receive a note – unseen to the reader – from Mysterious Pete which contains instructions for their journey. These instructions and the purpose of their journey remain indeterminate for the life of the comic.
The primary cast of ''The Kin-der-Kids'' were introduced to ''Tribune'' readers before the commencement of the comic strip's regular publication. On April 29, 1906, the ''Tribune'' published a special "All About the Tribune's New Comic Supplement" section. The cover featured a
caricature
A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...
of "Uncle" Feininger suspending the cast
marionette
A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or reveale ...
-like on strings. The "New Comic Supplement" introduction also included a page of color portraits of the characters, and inside the supplement were prose biographies of the characters.
The cast introduced in this publication are:
* Daniel Webster: The bookish leader of the children, he is frequently preoccupied with his reading, appealing to them with "oh, don't disturb me," when the other children alert him to happenings around them. Daniel's design is notably similar to that of Wee Willie Winkie.
* Pie-Mouth: The second of the children, a boy with an enormous mouth and an equally enormous appetite.
* Strenuous Teddy: The most physical of the Kin-der kids, frequently demonstrating feats of strength.
* Little Japansky: A
clockwork
Clockwork refers to the inner workings of either mechanical devices called clocks and watches (where it is also called the movement) or other mechanisms that work similarly, using a series of gears driven by a spring or weight.
A clockwork mec ...
boy-like machine found in the sea by Uncle Kin-der. Described as a " water baby," Japansky is mechanical device lost by a Japanese submarine, not a living child.
* Sherlock Bones: Daniel Webster's dog, a blue
dachshund
The dachshund ( or ; German: "badger dog"), also known as the wiener dog, badger dog, and sausage dog, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, and comes in a variety of c ...
who accompanies the children on their adventures.
* Aunt Jim-Jam and Gussie: Portrayed as over-worrying and concerned for the Kin-ders' safety, Aunt Jim-Jam pursues the Kids in a hot-air balloon to ensure that they receive their doses of
castor oil
Castor oil is a vegetable oil pressed from castor beans.
It is a colourless or pale yellow liquid with a distinct taste and odor. Its boiling point is and its density is 0.961 g/cm3. It includes a mixture of triglycerides in which about ...
. She is accompanied by her son, Gussie, and their pet cat. Along the way they pick up another traveler, Mr. Buggins, who was not mentioned in the April 29th introduction.
* Mysterious Pete and his hound: Mysterious Pete is a strange visitor wrapped in a large blue cloak and a big hat, with one eye peering out. Pete floats on a cloud, accompanied by his dog, to deliver messages to the rest of the cast, and occasionally to rescue them from trouble. He is described by other characters as some kind of ghost, prefers buckskin clothing, and has a western style revolver at the ready. Although he initially gives the children their instructions, it is also he who sets Aunt JimJam and company in pursuit of the children.
* The Pillsbury Family: Mister Phileas P. Pillsbury, possibly a
snake oil
Snake oil is a term used to describe deceptive marketing, health care fraud, or a scam. Similarly, "snake oil salesman" is a common expression used to describe someone who sells, promotes, or is a general proponent of some valueless or fraudu ...
salesman, is the inventor of "The Pillsbury Universal Growing Pill," which he seeks to travel the world marketing, along with five young daughters. The Pillsburys are introduced as major characters, however they only make one minor appearance in the course of the strip's life.
* Uncle Kin-der: the Kids' good-natured uncle and "nominal" head of the Kin-der family. Uncle Kin-der is never seen again after the strip's introduction.
''Wee Willie Winkie's World''
Unlike ''The Kin-der-Kids'', ''Wee Willie Winkie's World'' was not a continuing adventure. Each comic strip features the eponymous protagonist observing the surreal countryside around his grandfather's home. He interacts with the inanimate objects around him which have anthropomorphic qualities. Instead of
speech balloon
Speech balloons (also speech bubbles, dialogue balloons, or word balloons) are a graphic convention used most commonly in comic books, comics, and cartoons to allow words (and much less often, pictures) to be understood as representing a char ...
spaces, the comic strip uses captions that accompany the images.
After publication
When ''Wee Willie Winkie's World'' ceased publication in 1907, it proved to be the last comic strip Feininger would create, although he would later use similar designs for his wooden landscape sculptures (photographs of which were released in a 1965 book ''City at the Edge of the World''.) Despite the strips' short lives, they are praised by later comics enthusiasts. ''The Kin-der-Kidss "full-fledged, frankly suspenseful week-to-week continuity", writes cartooning historian
Bill Blackbeard
William Elsworth Blackbeard (April 28, 1926 – March 10, 2011), better known as Bill Blackbeard, was a writer-editor and the founder-director of the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art, a comprehensive collection of comic strips and cartoon art fr ...
, was a "real innovation for the time" when even Winsor McCay's ''Little Nemo'' had not yet developed into ongoing stories. The artwork is lauded as well, and has been called "exquisitely drawn" in ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
.''
Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman (; born Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman on February 15, 1948) is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel ''Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazines ''Arcade (comics maga ...
, editor of ''
Raw
Raw is an adjective usually describing:
* Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made
* Raw food, uncooked food
Raw or RAW may also refer to:
Computing and electronics
* .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
'' and author of ''
Maus
''Maus'' is a graphic novel by American cartoonist Art Spiegelman, serialized from 1980 to 1991. It depicts Spiegelman interviewing his father about his experiences as a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. The work employs postmodern technique ...
'', praises the ''Kin-der-Kids'' as Feininger's crowning achievement:
In 1994, the entirety of Feininger's comics were collected in a single volume by
Kitchen Sink Press
Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hardcov ...
: ''The Comic Strip Art of Lionel Feininger''. In 1999, ''
The Comics Journal
''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing re ...
Sunday Press Books
Sunday Press Books is an American publisher of comic strip reprint collections founded in 2005 by Peter Maresca. The company is known as a respected reprinter of comic strips and has to date won three Eisner Awards and two Harvey Awards. Since 202 ...
published the book: ''Forgotten Fantasy: Sunday Comics 1900-1915'', ISBN , collecting the complete ''The Kin-der-Kids'' and the complete ''Wee Willie Winkie's World''.